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Top
Lesbian Film Reviews
Page
3 of 5
Page
1: Aimee
& Jaguar to Clair of the Moon

Page 2: Daphine to Gia

Page 3: A Girl Thing to Looking
For Cheyenne

Page 4: Lost and Delirous to Serving
in Silence

Page
5: The Sex Monster to Wild SIde
A
Girl Thing (2002, US)
Director: Lee Rose, Studio: Showtime
Starring: Kate Capshaw, Stockard Channing, Rebecca DeMornay,
Mia Farrow, Linda Hamilton, Elle Macpherson, Camryn Manheim,
Glenne Headly, Allison Janney, Peta Wilson, Lynn Whitfield
REVIEW:
A Girl Thing is a Showtime mini series consisting
of four separate stories featuring women dealing with life's
unexpected twists and turns.
The first story features Lauren (Macpherson), an attorney
on a double blind date, finds herself attracted to Casey (Capshaw),
an advertising executive. The unexpected romance helps the
women define their own sexuality. The second story is about
three sisters Kim (De Mornay), Kathy (Janney), and Helen (Headly)
learning how to deal with each other while coping with the
death of their controlling mother Josephine (Franz). As the
third story unfolds, these women Nia- the wife (Whitfield),
Betty- the lover (Farrow), and Rachael- the hired private
investigator, plot their revenge to Paul- Nia's cheating husband
(Bakula) a taste of his own medicine. In the final story,
Suzanne (Manheim), a seriously emotionally disturbed patient
threatens Dr. Noonan, her assistant and another patient at
gunpoint. As the drama unfolds, find out what happens when
Dr. Noonan terminates their relationship with a surprising
result. With an astounding cast of actresses, A Girl Thing
accurately depicts women's emotions during all aspects of
their lives. The writing and directing are very convincing
and the New York City background heighten the appeal of this
mini series.

More info on A
Girl Thing

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
A
Girl Thing
Loved this mini series. Hot, slide-off -the-couch-hot,
love scenes between Cate Capshaw and Elle Macpherson; excellent
writing and acting!
***** |
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Girls
in Prison (1994, 82 min, US)
Director: John McNaughton, Studio: Disney/Dimension
Starring: Anne Heche, Ione Skye, Missy Crider, Bahni Turner,
Jon Polito
REVIEW:
This spirited Showtime spoof of women-behind-bars
films should delight any fan of trash cinema. Set during the
"Communist Witch Hunt" of the 1950s, the film focuses
on a trio of gals sent to an L.A. slammer for diverse reasons:
Skye, a lesbian writer, is accused of being a Commie; Turner
gets all medieval on a hate-spewing TV commentator; and Crider
is an aspiring folk singer falsely accused of stabbing record
producer Polito. Since the homespun Crider is the real innocent,
the other women unite to get her off the hook. With the help
of an outside detective, they discover that Heche, a golddigging
harpy, has set up Crider in order to reap the rewards of her
soon-to-be hit record. Based on an AIP film from the 1950s,
Girls in Prison may be the final film credit of tabloid great
Sam Fuller, who penned the script with steamy shower scenes,
a host of hot-to-trot cartoony characters, and hardboiled
dialogue.
More info on Girls in Prison.

More info on Girls
in Prison

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Amazing
Dreams Short-Short Review:
Girls in Prison
Didn't see it, but wish we had.
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Go
Fish (1994, 85 min, US)
Director: Rose Troche Studio: MGM
Starring: Guinevere Turner, V.S. Brodie
REVIEW:
Seriously cute and boyishly hip Max (Turner),
after a drought of ten months, is looking for love. She possibly
finds it in the person of Ely (V.S. Brodie), a semi-dorky,
slightly older woman. How the two women meet, court, and get
together is wonderfully handled in a light, effervescent fashion
that paints a finely detailed and on-target picture of young
lesbian life.
More info on Go Fish.

More info on Go
Fish

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Amazing
Dreams Short-Short Review:
Go Fish
Didn't see it, but sounds like fun.
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Henry
& June (1990, 140 min, US)
Director: Philip Kaufman Studio: Universal
Starring: Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard
E. Grant, Kevin Spacey
REVIEW:
The
first film to earn the MPAA's NC-17 rating, director Kaufman's
steamy adaptation of Anaïs Nin's novel about the passionate
love triangle between herself, writer Henry Miller, and
his wife June is a glorious sexual and literary odyssey
through the streets of 1930s Paris. Exquisitely photographed,
Henry & June sumptuously evokes a frenzied
carnival atmosphere and makes for an extraordinary sensual
cinematic experience.

More info on Henry
& June

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Henry
& June
One of our all-time favorites. Based on a true story written
by Anais Nin; beautifully filmed, incredibly sensual affairs
of the heart--so passionate in its erotic glory, and the
writing is remarkable.
*****
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High
Art (1998, 102 min, US)
Director: Lisa Cholodenko Studio: USA Home Entertainment
Starring: Ally Sheedy, Dadha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson,
Tammy Grimes, Bill Sage
REVIEW:
Syd (Mitchell) is a straight, blonde-haired
woman working as an intern at a high-powered photo magazine.
She finds her ticket to fame and lesbianism in the person
of Lucy Berliner (Sheedy). Lucy is a burned-out ex-photographer,
living a decadent, druggy life with Greta (Clarkson), a German
actress. Syds lesbian urges are kicked into overdrive
as she becomes entranced with the cool, thin Lucy. Their relationship
sparks Lucys creative juices and offers a career opportunity
for Syd. The only losers are their exs. A film which
offers intriguing ideas on the nature of love, drugs, and
art.

More info on High
Art

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
High
Art
A movie with the Drug Addict Lesbian Theme--great acting,
but sad, sad ending.
*** |
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History
Lessons (2000, 70 min, US)
Director: Barbara Hammer, Studio: First Run Features
REVIEW:
Barbara Hammer's (Nitrate Kisses) latest project
is a video & film collage of images of women that shows
just how pervasive lesbian imagery is in our culture. Piecing
together archival newsreel footage with dramatic recreations,
old lesbian porn and classic stills Ms. Hammer creates a unique
crazy quilt of humor, sensuality and beauty. Sex education
and health class instructional films will now be seen a whole
new light after one sees this film. The director has located
headlines from trashy tabloid newspapers including: "Worse
than Lesbians!", "Lesbian Lovers Nabbed in Armed
Robbery", and the best "Prison Made Me A Lesbian".
Incorporated in the film is footage from early lesbian porno
movies that are sexy and fun - who knew these films existed?
History Lessons features an original score that fuses avant-garde
electronica with historical sound clips and humorous original
folk songs to forge sounds as inventive as the marvelous film
they accompany.

More info on History
Lessons

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
History
Lessons
Great documentary! Very worth seeing.
**** |
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The
Hours (2002, 114 min, Great Britain)
Director: Stephen Daldry, Paramount/Miramax
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Ed
Harris, Claire Danes, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Jeff
Daniels, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Dillane,
Jack Rovello
REVIEW:
Three women, separated by time, class and geographic
location, share the book "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia
Woolf. The film opens with author Woolf in an idyllic Sussex
countryside in the early 1920s. Kidman, who won a Best Actress
Oscar as Woolf, offers a studied, controlled exploration of
a creative spirit trapped by expectations of reason and conformity,
and the best intentions of those who love her. Laura Brown
(Moore) enjoys the middle-class bliss of suburban Los Angeles
in 1951; yet she seems curiously sad and disassociated, intimidated
to distraction by the task of baking a cake. And in present-day
New York City, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is hosting yet another
party; this time for her longtime friend and confidant Richard
(Harris), whose nickname for her is "Mrs. Dalloway."
The Hours delivers a thoughtful contemplation of the inner
lives of three women who reflect each other's reality and
the shared reality of all women.

More info on The
Hours

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
The
Hours
We were so surprized by this movie--had no idea that it
would be such a big lez film! Sad parts, happy parts, great
acting, incredible actresses, wonderful in all its depth and
levels, and very worth seeing.
****
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The
Hunger (1983, 99 min, GB)
Director: Tony Scott Studio: MGM
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, David Bowie,
Cliff DeYoung, Willem Dafoe
REVIEW:
Catherine Deneuve stars as Miriam, an icy, elegant
vampiress, thousands of years old, who goes on the prowl for
a new mate after her 200-year lover (David Bowie) quickly
ages. Her affections find their way to Sara (Susan Sarandon),
a doctor who has written on the subject of accelerated aging.
Dripping with cinematic style and chic sexual intrigue, The
Hunger is both a chilling vampire tale and a sensuous
drama of lesbian attraction and desire. The two sensually
flirt, fall into each other's arms, and make loveand,
of course, share blood.

More info on The
Hunger

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
The
Hunger
LOVE IT!!! Catherine Deneuve beds Susan Sarandon in a love
scene that was totally made up by the actresses! What more
could you ask for? If you are into vampires, the novel The
Hunger by Whitley Strieber is fantastic--one of the best vamp
novels ever written, although the ending is very different
than the film.
***** |
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If
These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000, 92 min, US)
Director: Jane Anderson, Martha Coolidge & Anne Heche
Studio: HBO
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Marian Seldes, Elizabeth Perkins,
Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, Chloe Sevigny, Nia Long,
Natasha Lyonne, Amy Carlson, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres,
Kathy Najimy, Mitchell Anderson
REVIEW:
Vanessa Redgrave won the Emmy for Best Supporting
Actress for her performance in the first part of this terrific
film. Where the original Walls dealt with three
women each struggling with unwanted pregnancy, the sequel
takes a private look at the lives of three lesbian couples
during three different time periods in America: the 60s,
70s, and the new millennium. The common link is the
house of the title: they all occupy it at one time or another.
The year 1961 features Marian Seldes and Vanessa Redgrave
as an older lesbian couple who had been together for fifty
years. When Seldes dies of a stroke, Redgrave is forced to
grieve in silence. As she is not family in the
traditional sense, Redgrave is forced to endure the humiliation
of Seldes' only family coming to claim the house and its contents
for themselves. The year 1972 confronts peer pressure and
sexual identity as Michelle Williams finds herself attracted
to the butch Chloe Sevigny, much to the chagrin
of her hippie friends. In the year 2000, the house is now
occupied by lovers Ellen DeGeneres and Sharon Stone. Deeply
in love, the only thing missing from their idyllic life is
a child of their own. Making her directorial debut, Anne Heche
conveys the couple's frustrations and hopes (with sperm donors,
adoption agencies, etc.) in a manner sure to hit close to
home for anyone who has faced the same trials.

More info on If
These Walls Could Talk 2

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
If
These Walls Could Talk 2
Good, sad, and everything in between--made me want to get
a will drawn up right away.
*****
|
|
The
Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995,
95 min, US)
Director: Maria Maggenti Studio: Warner
Starring: Laurel Holloman, Nicole Parker, Maggie Moore, Kate
Stafford
REVIEW:
Randy (Laurel Holloman) is a white high school
tomboy living with her lesbian aunt. Evie (Nicole Parker)
is a beautiful and pampered black teenager from the right
side of the tracks. They meet and love blossoms despite their
differences. But trouble brews for the two as both of their
families undertake to break the lovers apart.

More info on The
Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
The
Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
Sweet story; the woman who plays Tina in The L Word stars
in this one as a baby dyke.
***** |
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Imagine
Me & You (2006, 94 min, US)
Studio: Fox
Cast: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, Celia Imrie,
Anthony Head
Director: Ol Parker
Screenwriter: Ol Parker
A big-screen romantic comedy for women who love women, or
least the men who fantasize about them.
REVIEW
If you find terms like vagitarian and lesbifriend
hilarious then youll fall in love with this romantic
comedy. Its love at first sight for bride-to-be
Rachel and flower arranger Luce as they exchange a momentary
glance at Rachels wedding. Without her kindhearted husband
Heck knowing, Rachel pursues her first relationship with a
woman. The entire cast is remarkably likable with standout
performances from Matthew Goode in the role of the self-sacrificing
husband and Piper Perabo as the aspiring lesbian (this is
familiar acting territory for Perabo, having previously starred
as half of a lesbian couple in 2001s Lost and Delirious).
The film is filled with all of the senile seniors, clueless
children and song and dance numbers that are expected from
modern romantic comedies. The character of Luce, the outgoing
lesbian, could easily be replaced by a man with nary a change
to the films outcome, but its gay-friendly attitude
should be commended nonetheless. Lesbians now have a big screen,
cookie-cutter romance to call their own.

More info on Imagine
Me & You

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Imagine
Me & You
We LOVE this movie! For anyone who finds herself falling in
love with another woman, but she is married, this is a great
film to watch!
***** |
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Inescapable
(2004, 81 min, US)
Studio: Atta Girl Productions
Director: Helen Lesnick
Screenwriter: Helen Lesnick
From
the maker of A Family Affair comes this erotic drama
about two women having an affair.
REVIEW
Diverging from the shtick that made us laugh in her debut
A Family Affair, Helen Lesnick has created a sultry erotic
drama about two women having a torrid, secret affair. Two
best friends and ex-lovers, Susan and Beth plan a long-awaited
reunion in Oregon with their current lovers. As the two
head off to work-related seminars, their current girlfriends
Jesse and Chloe try to politely get along and stay out of
each other's way but erotic tensions ignite. The simple
task of washing dishes together ignites a steamy tryst.
Taking charge of the situation, Jesse willfully dives into
Chloe's sexy mystique and soon no stitch of clothing comes
between fervent, sweaty bodies. They experience the burning
passion and fierce intimacy they long for, but don't get,
with their existing lovers. As the two continue to meet
at a motel every day, fear and guilt consume their thoughts.
Lesnick pushes the envelope with her camera lens that shows
intimate details and goes across boundaries. Inescapable
is the long awaited soft-core lesbian flick with a plot
that we've all been waiting for!
Kelly Burkhardt

More info on Inescapable
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Isle
of Lesbos (1996, 98 min, US)
Director: Jeff B. Harmon Studio: Indie-Underground
Starring: Kirsten Holly Smith, Danica Sheridan, Sonya Hensley,
Michael Dotson,
Alex Boling, Janet Krajeski, Sabrina Lu, Dionysius Burbano,
Calvin Grant, Jeff B. Harmon
This high energy, patently offensive musical romp (think The
Wizard of Oz meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show
as staged by Busby Berkeley) will have you either dancing
in the aisles or running for the exits. In Bumbuck, Arkansas,
a dirt-water town peopled by white Bible-thumping hicks, we
find Alice, a sweet young thing who, in a moment of despair
before her shotgun wedding, kills herself. She reemerges on
the Isle of Sapphosan Amazonian underworld led by a
corpulent queen (Blatz Balinski, a bear-guzzling bull dyke)
who rules over a bevy of gorgeous, scantily clad lesbian subjects.
Alice discovers her sexual wonderland as she embraces the
Sapphic way of life. But the folks back home arrive determined
to take her back to their heterosexual world.

More info on Isle
of Lesbos

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Isle of Lesbos
Didn't see it, but sounds like fun.
?
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I've
Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987, 81 min, Canada)
Director: Patricia Rozema
Starring: Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon
REVIEW:
Shelia McCarthy is enchanting as the romantically
naive Polly, who becomes infatuated with her female boss in
this whimsical comedy. Her boss, the curator of the gallery,
is a lesbian involved in a relationship with a very butch
lover. The characters, especially the heart-wrenchingly sweet
Polly, make this a special film experience. (This video is
currently out of print and is not available for sale, but
may possibly be found for rent.)

More info on I've
Heard the Mermaids Singing

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Didn't see it, but sounds like fun.
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Just
the Two of Us (1970, 82 min, US)
Director: Barbara Peters Studio: Something Weird
Starring: Alicia Courtney, Elizabeth Plumb
REVIEW:
Pretty and sensible Denise (Alicia Courtney) and the sweetly
ditsy blonde Adria (Elizabeth Plumb) are lonely housewives
living in suburban L.A. who become close friends. While lunching
at a restaurant, they notice two women at another table kissing.
Both women are transfixed, and a romance between them ensues.
However, what is a fling to one becomes much more to the other.

More info on Just
the Two of Us

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Just
the Two of Us
Beautiful beginnings, sad endings, same ol' dyke sufferings
in the early years.
***
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Kissing
Jessica Stein (2002, 96 min, US)
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, Studio: Fox Searchlight
Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, Scott Cohen,
Tovah Feldshuh
REVIEW:
Copy editor Jessica Stein has high expectations with every
guy she attempts to date. Jaded by constant disappointment
with men, she answers a singles ad under the "women seeking
women" section. She meets art dealer Helen Cooper, who
is equally tired of her mundane routine in which she has a
different gent for various sexual needs. What happens when
these two formidable women get together forms the core of
a most charming romantic comedy, complete with well-rounded
characters brought to life by a talented ensemble who go a
long way to help identify and define the complexity all relationships
have.

More info on Kissing
Jessica Stein

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Kissing
Jessica Stein
Fun but no big action; just a lot of tease.
****
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Late
Bloomers (1997, 104 min, US)
Director: Gretchen Dyer & Julia Dyer Studio: Strand
Releasing
Starring: Connie Nelson, Dee Hennigan, Gary Carter, Lisa Peterson,
Val Lumpkin
REVIEW:
This comedy-drama is set in Eleanor Roosevelt High School
where Dinah, a gangly math teacher and basketball coach, becomes
friends with the cute but doughy Carly, a married school secretary
and mother of two. What begins as innocent friendship soon
becomes much more. As the two become more bold in their public
affection for each other, Carly's husband, her sensitive daughter
and young son, as well as neighbors and coworkers, begin to
talk and become increasingly troubled. But romance triumphs
over all adversities as the two women throw caution to the
wind and fall passionately in love with each other.

More info on Late
Bloomers

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Late
Bloomers
Great one! Happy and inspiring, especially for women coming
out who are over 30.
*****
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Le
Jupon Rouge (1987, 90 min, France)
Director: Geneviève Lefèbvre Studio: Strand
Releasing
Starring: Marie-Christine Barrault, Alida Valli, Guillemette
Groban
REVIEW:
Three women of greatly differing ages and backgrounds engage
in a complicated relationship with one another. Manuela (Marie-Christine
Barrault) has a nominal relationship with her boyfriend, but
is actually more committed to her political work. She meets
an older woman, Bacha (Alida Valli), a holocaust survivor
and activist, and the two strike up a friendship, which becomes
strained when Manuela begins a passionate love affair with
another woman. (French with subtitles)

More info on Le
Jupon Rouge

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Le Jupon Rouge
Didn't see it, but would like to do so.
?
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Lianna
(1982, 110 min, US)
Director: John Sayles
Starring: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries
REVIEW:
Director-writer Sayles' exceptional and humorous exploration
of the coming out of the good wife offers a compassionate
view of lesbianism, self-determination, and unrest. Lianna
(Linda Griffiths) confronts her husband's infidelity, falls
in love with her female graduate instructor, and sets out
on her own. Sayles directs with a sensitive hand, and his
perceptive screenplay contains many vulnerable and tender
moments examining one woman's budding lesbian self-realization.
(This video is currently out of print and is not available
for sale, but may possibly be found for rent.)

More info on Lianna

Amazing Dreams Short-Short Review:
Lianna
Another good one.
****
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Looking
for Cheyenne (2006, 87 min, France)
Studio: Here!, Genius Entertainment
Cast: Aurélia Petit, Guilaine Londez, Laurence Côte,
Malik Zidi, Mila Dekker
Director: Valérie Minetto
In this awe-inspiring journey, two lesbian lovers are
united with burning passion and profound love, but not without
the complications of idealistic principles in a modern society.
REVIEW:
In the thriving, intricate borders of Paris, two passionate
girlfriends struggle to keep their fervent affair afloat while
disrupted by idealistic nuances and moralistic values. Beautiful,
blonde Sonia (Aurelia Petit) is a well-liked high school teacher
who is successful in her career, unlike her free-spirited,
exquisite brunette lover Cheyenne (Mila Dekker), who unfortunately
has been laid off from her journalism job. Frustrated with
societys pressures, the unemployed idealist decides
to buck the system and refuses welfare and modern day amenities
like electricity or automobiles. Their torrid liaison crumbles
after a heated night, and Cheyenne packs up her life, hops
on her bicycle and rides away to simpler living in the French
countryside. Sonia is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered
heart and along the way she has one-night-stands first with
a left-wing bloke and subsequently with an attentive, but
haughty lesbian love interest. Will she find satisfaction
in the arms of another lover? Has Cheyenne found the true
meaning of her existence even though she left behind the one
desire she cannot forget? First-time director Valerie Minetto
stoically parallels this intense, rooted connection between
two souls with how capitalist societies grind down the very
ones that help it thrive. Intelligent, romantic and simplistic,
Looking for Cheyenne is a classic lesbian romance of true
love, regretful loss and finding it again. (French with English
subtitles)
-- Kelly Burkhardt

More info on Looking
for Cheyenne |
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HOW
TO BE A HAPPY LESBIAN:
A COMING OUT GUIDE
©2008 by Amazing Dreams Publishing
All rights reserved.
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